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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29002419">Magic, Monsters, and Man</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/begaydocrimes10001/pseuds/begaydocrimes10001'>begaydocrimes10001</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Magnus Archives (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Asexual Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Asexual Martin Blackwood, Basically, Bullied Elias Bouchard, End Avatar Georgie Barker, Happy Ending, Jonathan Sims is a witch, Just mentioned once or twice, M/M, Magic, Monster Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, No beta we kayak like Tim, Not Beta Read, POV Martin Blackwood, Period-Typical Homophobia, Slaughter Avatar Melanie King, Spiral Avatar Sasha James, Stranger Avatar Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives), but lowkey, kind of</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:28:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,446</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29002419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/begaydocrimes10001/pseuds/begaydocrimes10001</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Martin Blackwood has run away from the village he was born in, desperate to escape the memories of his death mother.<br/>While running, he stumbles into a magical forest, before learning he's just been places in the Magnus Kingdom, a mystery to those who don't live there.<br/>Here be romance, monsters, magic, goth ghosts, a relationship between the most unlikely individuals, and discovering what made the Magnus Kingdom so oddly magical.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Georgie Barker &amp; Martin Blackwood, Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Martin Blackwood &amp; Sasha James, Martin Blackwood &amp; Sasha James &amp; Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood &amp; Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This idea struck me when I was thinking about Jonathan Sims as a witch and now we have t h i s.<br/>supposed to be a one shot.<br/>should be around... five-ish chapters?<br/>hopefully less, as this is my third WIP.<br/>Hope y'all like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Martin Blackwood was running.</p><p>He didn't quite know why he was running so fast, or with so much fear, but all he knew was that he'd accidentally entered a forest that had set his heart pumping too fast and his palm sweating too much.</p><p>So he'd started to run.</p><p>And he wouldn't stop until that weird, uncanny feeling of being watched <em>went away.</em></p><p>But he was getting so tired.</p><p>So, <em>so</em> tired.</p><p>He'd need to stop soon, but this forest was not safe. Nowhere CLOSE to.</p><p>But, Martin was...</p><p>Why was he so fatigued?</p><p>Whatever.</p><p>Martin slumped against a tree, catching all the air he'd lost over fifteen straight minutes of sprinting, running as fast as he possibly could.</p><p>Alright. What was Martin's plan?</p><p>He didn't have one, did he.</p><p>Martin had no plan.</p><p>Well, that was a lie- he had one, he'd just already carried it out.</p><p>The plan had been to just get away.</p><p>To leave.</p><p>And now he had.</p><p>But then the only way really out was through the forest, and now he was here.</p><p>In this certainly haunted forest, alone, probably about to be killed.</p><p>Fantastic.</p><p>Martin sighed, looking around the trees.</p><p>If not for that weird feeling, it was actually quite a nice place. There was enough sunlight around the dark green trees that he could see around well enough, and there were birds chirping and the smell of honeysuckle, floating through the air.</p><p>But the shadows darted, and the birds were oddly faint.</p><p>If not for that weird feeling, it would've been a quite nice place, but Martin knew that the feeling was a warning.</p><p>For what, he didn't know.</p><p>But, until he could get a plan straight, he might as well write some poetry down.</p><p>Martin fished through his satchel, pulling out his treasured, leather-bound book.</p><p>Very few people in his village had owned more than twelve books to read, let alone their own, unwritten in, notebook.</p><p>Martin had saved up for it during those couple of months where he was working in the print shop, snagging a loose paper here and there until he'd gotten a total of 250 pages, bounding it together in the dead of night.</p><p>He'd left right after, running away.</p><p>That book had been the last thing keeping him in that village, now that his mum was dead.</p><p>Oh god his <em>mum</em>...</p><p>Martin shook his head, trying to jettison the thoughts. Whatever. Not the time.</p><p>He took out his single pencil and frowned, biting his lip.</p><p>What could he write about?</p><p>Hm.</p><p>
  <em>The trees sway</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the breeze</em>
</p><p>
  <em>but the wind can't seem</em>
</p><p>
  <em>to erase anything</em>
</p><p>No, that was awful. Erase <span class="u">what</span>? What did he want to forget?</p><p><em>everything</em>, a treacherous voice in his head whispered. <em>All the suffering and pain that village gave you. Everything</em>.</p><p>Martin snapped the book shut.</p><p>That clearly wasn't helping.</p><p>He reopened it again, slowly, flipping to a blank page.</p><p>
  <em>Plan:</em>
</p><p>
  <em>- leave this forest</em>
</p><p>
  <em>- get a job in the nearest kingdom/village</em>
</p><p>
  <em>- hope no one from my old one finds me</em>
</p><p>There! Easy peasy.</p><p>But where was the nearest settlement?</p><p>Maybe, seeing as Martin had walked East- or was it west?- he should walk in the diagonal direction of that, because this forest never seemed it end.</p><p>It was really vast for a forest, honestly. If Martin wasn't crazy, he'd think he was hallucina-</p><p>A twig snapped.</p><p>Martin jumped.</p><p>The light streaming in from the trees seemed to darken and brighten at the same time, giving an uncanny feeling to everything.</p><p>Someone- no, <em>something</em> stepped out of the trees.</p><p>It was a mannequin with a smiling face.</p><p>A... very <em>wrong</em> smiling face.</p><p>Why was it wrong? What made that face, perfectly skin toned, so wro-</p><p>Oh god that color wasn't made from paint.</p><p>"Oh <em>hello</em>!" It said cheerfully, the smile never falling off. "Who are you then? I've never seen you in these parts. Then again, I don't have eyes, so how could I!" The mannequin laughed at that, a chilling, <em>wrong</em> sound and everything was wrong, so wrong, Martin needed to leave, now-</p><p>Martin started to scamper away but the mannequin gripped his arm.</p><p>It was cold.</p><p>"Now, we can't be having that!" it tsked, shaking its head. "You can't leave! You're my <em>guest</em>... Martin, can I call you Martin? And guests can't-"</p><p>Martin felt the blood thump even faster in his body. "How do you know my name?"</p><p>The mannequin laughed again, and Martin felt even his bones tense. "Why wouldn't I, silly! You're my guest!"</p><p>"To... to what?"</p><p>"To the <em>Unknowing</em>, of course!" it said with an even wider smile, bile rising in Martin's throat because of it. "Now, why don't you follow me, or I'll rip your skin off and use it for my next face! Sound good?"</p><p>Martin couldn't move.</p><p>His legs were stuck, he couldn't move, this mannequin was going to steal his face and he was doomed, <em>doomed</em>, and-</p><p>"NIKOLA."</p><p>Who was that?</p><p>Martin whipped his head around to see a short, dark-skinned man, riddled with round scars on his face, and deeply green eyes.</p><p>The man was angry.</p><p>And Martin, sadly, found it incredibly hot.</p><p>The mannequin's, Nikola's, eyes and smile widened while not moving at all. "Archivist! How pleasant a surprise!"</p><p>"I'm Not. the Archivist," The man grit out.</p><p>"Well, you have The Archivist's powers, and trained under The Watcher, so I think you are!" Nikola exclaimed cheerily.</p><p>The man- a not-archivist? glared at her. "It doesn't matter- what matters is that you leave. this man. alone."</p><p>"But," Nikola said with furrowed eyebrows, "Why would I do that? He has such <em>lovely</em> skin, Archivist, all the better for my circus!"</p><p>"I-I'd rather my skin <em>not</em> be taken, thanks!" Martin squeaked out, finally able to find his voice.</p><p>The man gestured to Martin. "See? So don't take his skin."</p><p>Nikola laughed again, but this chilled Martin this time. "Well, Archivist, I need someone's, so I'll be taking his. Good da-"</p><p>"<em>Ceaseless watcher.</em>"</p><p>Nikola stiffened a lot, fear coursing through its body. "Archivist, why don't you think for a seco-"</p><p>"<em>Give this thing the pain it caused."</em></p><p>"Archivist, please, n-"</p><p>"<em>Let it feel their skins suffering, the suffering of all the people who have had their faces stolen.</em><em>"</em></p><p>"No! Archivist, i've always left you alone, so you should ju-"</p><p>
  <em>"Let it Know the horror of its actions, the pain it has caused and how awful that pain is."</em>
</p><p>"NO! NO NO N O N O-"</p><p>"<strong><em>CEASELESS WATCHER, TURN YOUR GAZE UPON THIS WRETCHED THING AND TAKE IT ALL, FOR IT. IS. YOURS.</em></strong>"</p><p>Nikola...</p><p>Well, Martin didn't know what happened to Nikola, but it was bright.</p><p>He felt a thousand, no, a <em>million</em> eyes stare into the thing next to him, the pressure radiating and almost killing him, he was known almost completely and he just wanted it to <em>stop</em>-</p><p>And then it did.</p><p>Martin blinked his eyes open, and turned to see the man, the not-archivist, standing there, his eyes glowing.</p><p>They faded as soon as they glanced up to Martin.</p><p>The man jumped slightly, before frowning.</p><p>"Could you tell me w-who are you?"</p><p>Martin swallowed and started to fiddle with a loose string of thread. "I-I'm Martin. Martin Blackwood. Nice to meet you."</p><p>"<em>Why are you here?</em><em>"</em> The man said, his eyes shimmering slightly again, and Martin felt the answer well up his throat without permission.</p><p>"I was running away from my hometown because I hate it, and want to leave behind my memories, when I accidentally fell into this forest and met the mannequin."</p><p>The man's eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. "Hell, I'm sorry Martin, I didn't mean-"</p><p>"It-it's fine," Martin said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the queasy feeling in his stomach from the moment before. "Where... where am i?"</p><p>"The forest outside of the Magnus Kingdom."</p><p>"And... who are you?"</p><p>"Oh! yes, right. Jonathan Sims. Jon." Jon stuck out his hand. "Local cryptid. Nice to meet you."</p><p>Martin took his hand and smiled. "Local cryptid's your job then?"</p><p>Jon shrugged, his mouth a very well hidden smile. "In a way of speaking, yes. Me and Gerry."</p><p>"Who's Gerr-"</p><p>"JON. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING."</p><p>Behind Jon was a dark haired, pale man, who was frowning.</p><p>"I was just- I was saving this man. His name's Martin," Jon said while gesturing to Martin.</p><p>Gerry looked Martin up and down, head slightly tilted. "Did he..."</p><p>Jon shook his head. "No. He knows nothing. Stumbled into the forest by accident."</p><p>"What don't I know?" Martin felt fear well up again. Had he just been saved to be killed by other people?</p><p>He doubted Jon would do that though. Jon seemed trustworthy, and he had quite nice eyes and hair and-</p><p>Fuck.</p><p>"Nothing," Gerry said sharply. "Absolutely nothing."</p><p>Martin nodded slowly. "...Alright. So, Jon was telling me you two were the local cryptids. What does that mean?"</p><p>"It-" Jon started to say before Gerry interjected.</p><p>"It means that he's the cast out witch and i'm his dead ghost."</p><p>Martin blinked.</p><p>"His-his <em>what?</em><em>"</em></p><p>"That's not how you're supposed to <em>tell people-"</em> Jon hissed.</p><p>Gerry rolled his eyes. "It's the truth, Jon."</p><p>"Cast out of <em>where</em>?"</p><p>Jon sighed, pushing up his glasses. "The Magnus Kingdom."</p><p>"Oh." Martin shouldn't have been so disappointed they couldn't be next-door neighbors. "Why?"</p><p>"Doesn't matter," Jon said with the tone of someone who would never talk about it if they could get away with it. "You're trying to get there?"</p><p>"Yes, bu-"</p><p>Jon snapped his fingers. "Done."</p><p>Martin was about to say, "<em>but you seem quite nice and I'd like to have a tea with you,"</em> but by the time he could say those words he was in a cottage, sitting next to a man and woman.</p><p>The man had lighter skin than Jon, but still wasn't white, the half of his face Martin could see riddled with the same scars. He was wearing a white blouse, tucked into almost black pants, and black boots.</p><p>The woman was the same skin tone as Jon, her hair frizzy and pulled back into a sort of bun with a headband-type piece of cloth keeping any extra wisps of hair away. She was wearing a white blouse as well, but that was tucked into an orange, billowing skirt.</p><p>Their heads whipped around to Martin, and Martin's heart stopped.</p><p>Half of the man's face was plastic, and half of the woman's was shifting colors.</p><p>Their eyes both widened and their faces became normal again, but Martin had seen them.</p><p>Something was wrong.</p><p>Very, <em>very </em>wrong.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>why am I publishing not even 24 hours after last chapter?<br/>because I am FULL of writing juice for this and I need to capatalize on it.<br/>LETS DO THISS</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Martin stared at the woman and the man, who turned to themselves.</p><p>"Jon gave us him, didn't he Sash," the man said with a mutter.</p><p>The woman- Sash- gave a sigh and nodded. "Definitely." She then turned to Martin and stuck out her arm. "Nice to meet you...?"</p><p>Martin shook himself out of his stupor and shook her hand. "Martin! I'm Martin Blackwood."</p><p>"Nice to meet you Martin. I'm Sasha, and that guy-" The man waved his hand- "Is Tim."</p><p>"Can I call you Marto?" Tim said with a grin.</p><p>Martin nodded.</p><p>"FANTASTIC. Now, why are you here?"</p><p>Martin bit his lip. "Well, I was in this forest-" the two others winced-"And I saw this mannequin-" the wincing increased, especially by Tim- "And Jon... saved me. He did this thing, saying ceaseless watc-"</p><p>But before he could continue, Sasha clapped her hand on his mouth.</p><p>"DON'T. Say. That. Name," Tim growled.</p><p>"Al-alright, I won't!" Martin squeaked out, his voice muffled from the hand. Sasha nodded solemnly and backed away.</p><p>"So, Marto, where you from then?"</p><p>"A town calle- Wait, how'd you know I was from somewhere else?"</p><p>Sasha and Tim scoffed slightly. "Martin, anyone from here wouldn't go into the forest if their life depended on it. They'd also know about Nikola."</p><p>"Oh yeah!" Martin exclaimed. "That was her name! Jon killed her, you know, so if you were worried about your skin being stolen..."</p><p>Tim shot up straight, his eyes full of fear. "He... he did <em>what</em> now?"</p><p>"Kill... killed Nikola? Who was trying to steal my skin?"</p><p>Tim got up and started to pace, slightly too fast for a human.</p><p>Why was that true?</p><p>"Martin," Sasha said calmly, "how long ago was this?"</p><p>"A... couple of minutes ago?"</p><p>Sasha turned to Tim. "If <em>it</em> hasn't happened yet-"</p><p>"It... probably won't. You're right." Tim gave a deep sigh and flopped down onto the bed again. "Sorry Marto, you were saying?"</p><p>"I..." Martin desperately wanted to ask what had just happened, but the dark glint in Tim's eye told him no well enough. "Right. Well, after that, a-apparently a <em>ghost?</em> named Gerard appeared, and he, uh, told me they were both cast out of the Magnus kingdom. I-I said I was trying to get there, and well... here I am."</p><p>Tim and Sasha nodded slowly. "So... the only magic encounter you had was with Nikola?"</p><p>"Yes, I-" Martin froze. "What do you mean <em>only."</em></p><p>"Yeah. Those are... common, out here," Tim said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. "Very. Common. Actually."</p><p>"Huh," Martin muttered. "That have anything to do with your faces?"</p><p>The other two stiffened.</p><p>Sasha raised her eyebrows. "You... saw."</p><p>"Yeah, but if it's common, then-"</p><p>"Martin, it's common like a <em>bear</em> attack is common," Tim said with a roll of his eyes. "People hate it, and it's DANGEROUS, but it just <em>happens</em>."</p><p>Martin's heart stopped again.</p><p>Just his luck to stumble into three- five if he counted Jon and Gerry, but Jon wouldn't cause or let Gerard do him <em>harm</em>- magical people today.</p><p>"OH!" he squeaked out. "So, should I- flee? Or are you guys like Jon?"</p><p>Sasha glared. "We're like Jon."</p><p>"Oh. Good. Do you- can I have some tea?"</p><p>Tim started to get up, but Martin grabbed his arm.</p><p>It... it was cold. Like plastic.</p><p>Whatever. Focus on the now.</p><p>"No, I- I'd like to <em>make</em> tea. Please."</p><p>Tim blinked. "Alrighty. Kitchen's all yours then."</p><p>Martin gave a sigh of relief inwardly, bustling towards the cabinets.</p><p>"So, could you- what's the magic thing?" He asked while warming the water.</p><p>"You want to learn about that <em>now?"</em> Martin could hear Sasha's raised eyebrows without seeing them.</p><p>"It's now or never, right?"</p><p>"That... yeah, true." Tim sighed. "What do you want to know?"</p><p>"What was Nikola?"</p><p>"...Nikola was The avata- wait, you don't know the powers."</p><p>Martin frowned. "The... the <em>powers</em>?" He got out the two mugs and started to pour the boiling water in. "<em>What</em>?"</p><p>"It..." Tim gave a deep sigh. "Basically, uh, everything has magic. But you can only harness it through taking a specific feeling caused by the... thing. And, for some reason, the first sorcerers chose fear! So magic only happens through fear now."</p><p>Martin took the three mugs and gave two to the others. "I- I didn't know how you guys liked your tea, so I just guessed."</p><p>Sasha slowly took a sip before her face brightened. "Martin, this is <em>great</em>."</p><p>"Yeah Marto- you're perfect at tea. Hasn't been this good since-" Tim's face fell a fraction, but he shook his head. "Nevermind. But yeah, it's great."</p><p>Martin felt himself blush slightly. He... his mum had never complimented his tea. It was always, "<em>too cold"</em> or "<em>too sweet"</em> or <em>"that tea you burnt somehow tasted better."</em></p><p>He felt those fog tendrils start to encircle him.</p><p>NO. He was Martin Blackwood and he had LEFT, he was safe with Tim and Sasha.</p><p>"Marto?" Tim asked with a concerned face. "You good?"</p><p>Martin plastered on a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just... why fear?"</p><p>"HA! That's a question I'd like to ask the original mages," Tim exclaimed with a laugh.</p><p>Sasha tapped her chin. "I think it was because they had wanted to conquer the world, and I mean... fear makes sense."</p><p>Tim raised his eyebrows. "Sash... was that... <em>critical thinking?</em> I thought WE had agreed to never have that again!"</p><p>"Tim, I swear-" Sasha put her hand on her heart as she said this solemnly- "This wasn't <em>close </em>to critical. Random, random thoughts, I swear."</p><p>"Thank god. I was afraid you had abandoned me." Tim dramatically put a hand on his forehead before glancing at Martin. "You joining?"</p><p>"J-Joining what?"</p><p>"The ban on critical thinking."</p><p>Martin gave a smile. It was harmless fun, why not? "Sure."</p><p>Martin stuck out his hand, and then-</p><p>what feeling his brain hurt jagged edges weird sounds doesn't make <em>sense</em> why doesn't it make sense things had made sen see he can't see why can't he see whats going going to happen to happen to his mom mom was dead mom was <em>abandoning</em>him his mom he hated his himself he hated himself he hated him mom he hated his mom he was-</p><p>"FUCK, SASH."</p><p>touch someone touching shoulderblade jagged plastic cold so cold spirals from other arm who was other arm not tim but not nottim but not not that sasha was spiral what is spiral what-</p><p>"Martin? Are... are you alright?"</p><p>Martin blinked.</p><p>His brain... It worked again.</p><p>"I-fine, now." he blinked away the tears of pain. "Wha-what happened?"</p><p>Sasha glanced over at Tim, who was staring out the window, his face unseeable and unreadable.</p><p>"We... it... the magic. Remember how I said it was from fear of things?"</p><p>Martin nodded.</p><p>"Tim and I... we use two different fears. And, apparently, they saw a way to profit off of that stupid joke. Mine is of your brain tricking you, of things you see not being... what you see, and Tim..." She sighed, and he could feel her pain. "He uses the fear of things being slightly off, things being wrong, like-"</p><p>"Like mannequins."</p><p>"Y...Yeah."</p><p>Martin, for one of the few times of his life, felt rage bubble up. "So, what? He was upset earlier because his boss died? The boss who was, who was trying to steal my SKIN?"</p><p>Tim whirled around, and all Martin could see was dark red anger, pain and suffering in his face.</p><p>He walked forward, clenching his jaw, his eyes twitching and trembling.</p><p>"Don't you <em>dare</em> call Nikola my boss. She stole- Martin, she was evil and I am so, so glad she died. More glad than you could <em>ever </em>imagine!" Tim was yelling now, pointing his finger at Martin, his body shaking.</p><p>His face flickered in and out from plastic.</p><p>"Just because I- I'm now-" He swallowed. "It doesn't. Matter. I want nothing more than <em>all</em> the Strangers to die, do you hear?"</p><p>Martin nodded meekly.</p><p>Silence fell.</p><p>Tim's rage fell as well, and he slumped down into a chair.</p><p>He looked... broken.</p><p>So, so broken.</p><p>"I... I'm sorry Martin."</p><p>"it... It's alright. I can tell I struck something bad."</p><p>Tim chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah. You did."</p><p>They were silent for another moment.</p><p>"It... if you didn't want her to live, why were you so nervous?" Martin had just come here, and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave, so he needed to know enough to survive.</p><p>"Each of these... powers, they have groups working under them," Sasha said as Tim stayed still, sitting motionless. "And, because of how they were formed, there's a leader. When the leader dies, the person who's been 'working' for the power the longest becomes the leader, and... looses all humanity."</p><p>Martin felt the room still. "Wh-whether they want to or not?"</p><p>"Yeah, it... it's not a choice."</p><p>"But... <em>why?"</em></p><p>"Hell if we know." Tim had finally spoken up. "Jon thinks that there's some sort of vacuum or some shit, but I honestly don't care. All I care about is doing as little for my power as I can." He stood up. "Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to get some food."</p><p>He shut the door behind him.</p><p>Martin bit the inside of his lip. "He... you're <em>way</em> better adjusted to this than him."</p><p>Sasha laughed, and the gloomy mood lifted. "Yeah, I guess I am. I don't <em>like</em> it, but- I didn't have to take a power that had traumatized me."</p><p>"What-" Martin bit back his anger. He'd asked questions, gotten answers, but still <em>nothing made sense</em>. "What do you mean <em>take</em>?"</p><p>Sasha sighed. "Tim and I... were accidentally working for one. And we didn't want to. But the only way we could sever our connection, besides blinding ourselves, was to choose some other power we had interacted with. For me it was the spiral, and for Tim..." she trailed off.</p><p>Martin wanted to ask more so he could find out a way to <em>just <span class="u">survive</span></em>, but he was tired and angry and exhausted.</p><p>"Thanks Sasha. Can you lead me to my bedroom?"</p><p>Sasha nodded with a soft smile, walking with him up the tiny spiral staircase.</p><p>She opened a door and there was an uncluttered, albeit dusty bedroom for him to stay in.</p><p>"Thanks Sasha."</p><p>Martin closed the door and collapsed onto the bed.</p><p>Tomorrow, more answers and food.</p><p>Tonight: sleep.</p>
<hr/><p>As Martin tried to sleep, he felt the fog, the damned fog choke his heart, his mind.</p><p>"MOM? MOM!" he shouted out into the fog, as it swirled around the now dead-eyed faces of his former village members.</p><p>He kept running, running and running and-</p>
<hr/><p>Martin woke up.</p><p><em>Not again</em>.</p><p>He went back to sleep, trying to not dream the dream of the afternoon only a day before.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>am I good at worldbuilding? no. will i try anyways? yes. yes I will.<br/>also Sasha IS A D  U M B A S S she's smart but a DUMBASS she can be both ok.<br/>And more worldbuilding will be added, don't worry. things will ALLLLL make sense.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so. last episode.<br/>LETS FORGET ABOUT THAT IN M Y WORLD-<br/>hope this is good!<br/>CW: I talk a bit about period-typical homophobia, and it does go slightly into what happens to people, but it's nothing too graphic. After Tim says being gay isn't outlawed, you can skip to "that...that's really nice" when martin says it if it's potentially triggering.<br/>also I haven't edited this at ALL so. I'll put something here one I have.<br/><strong>I've edited this slightly! YAY!</strong></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Martin woke up the next morning, the first thing he smelled were freshly baked cinnamon rolls.</p><p>That was quite pleasant.</p><p>He got up, scratching his back and stepped down into the kitchen, where Sasha and Tim were having a conversation.</p><p>Tim seemed... much better, to say the least. His face looked more cheerful, and the plastic wasn't visible.</p><p>Martin walked up to the pan cautiously, ripping out a cinnamon roll as best as he could.</p><p>"Where'd you get the stuff to make these?" He asked to Sasha and Tim. "It... the ingredients are near impossible to find easily, especially for this sugary topping."</p><p>"Remember Marto," Tim said with a grin, "This is the Magnus Kingdom, home of spooky things. Y'don't think we have better crops than most?"</p><p>Martin gave an agreeing head gesture before moving to the fire oven, poking the ashes a bit so they'd at least spark some as he put the cinnamon roll on the grate.</p><p>Sasha frowned. "Are you trying to get that lit on fire?"</p><p>Martin shook his head. "No, fire... it's just never liked me. I'm too cold for it I guess."</p><p>"What do you mean too co-"</p><p>
  <em>Knock knock knock.</em>
</p><p>Sasha got up, smoothing her apron before opening the door. "Hello...?"</p><p>Outside, from Martin's sliver of view, was a slightly angry woman, hair dyed red, arms linked with a black woman wearing a silver necklace with a grave on the chain.</p><p>Sasha's face brightened. "Melanie! Georgie! Hey!"</p><p>She opened the door and the two other women stepped in. The grave-necklace woman waved to Tim while the angry woman high-fived him.</p><p>"Stoker."</p><p>"King."</p><p>"Any good stories?"</p><p>"Only if you have a good knife."</p><p>King grinned, and it was slightly too toothy to be real. "Made just for you Tim. Should be useful." She rustled through her bag, finally pulling out a knife as red as blood.</p><p>Tim nodded and tucked it away. "Thanks a lot for that. Now, stories-" he started to do jazz hands. "We adopted someone!"</p><p>Grave woman started to laugh. "What, you and Sasha? I thought you two weren't-"</p><p>"Oh, we aren't," Sasha said. "But guess who randomly spawned someone into our house."</p><p>"Jon didn't."</p><p>"He did. Martin, want to introduce yourself?"</p><p>RIght. He existed. Ok.</p><p>Martin gave a meek wave, hands slightly sticky from the cinnamon roll. "I-I'm Martin. From the outside. Got here by accident. Nice to meet you."</p><p>Grave-woman titled her head slowly, before nodding. "Right. I'm Georgie, town informant, and this is my... special friend, Melanie, weapons forger."</p><p>Melanie stuck up a hand. "Hello."</p><p>Martin waved back. "Right. So, how do you two know Jon?"</p><p>"I've made <em>many</em> weapons for him which he's ALL BROKEN-" Melanie started to half yell, but Georgie placed a hand on her shoulder and raised her eyebrows slightly.</p><p>"Right. Sorry. Ahem. Anyways, that's how I know him, and he and Georgie used to date a <em>long</em> time ago."</p><p>Martin had no reason to be jealous. Absolutely none. Literally none.</p><p>And yet he WAS.</p><p>"O-oh! Nice." Apparently that was the best he could do.</p><p>Martin turned to get a beverage instead of revealing his pink face. "I... I'd accidentally stumbled into the forest when he saved me from Nikola, that weird mannequin."</p><p>"Oh yeah," Georgie said. She then fiddled with her necklace slightly. "She died, didn't she?"</p><p>"Yeah actually! I guess you know everything, being the town informant," Martin joked.</p><p>Everyone slightly stiffened.</p><p>Melanie glared. "Don't joke about that."</p><p>Right. People.... apparently didn't like knowing things?</p><p>Well then.</p><p>"S-sorry."</p><p>Sasha waved her hand dismissively. "It... it's fine Martin. You didn't know. Melanie- <em>relax</em>."</p><p>Melanie huffed out a breath. "He's crushing on <em>Jon</em> Sasha! Anyone-"</p><p>Martin, at that point, choked on his drink, coughing.</p><p>For completely unrelated reasons to what Melanie was saying, of course.</p><p>Melanie continued on without pause though.</p><p>"Anyone who likes <em>Jon</em> isn't in a good place in my book." She paused. "Except for you babe."</p><p>Georgie gave a slight chuckle. "He's so much like you, you know."</p><p>"Yes yes I <em>know</em>."</p><p>Martin blinked, trying to comprehend the last six or so sentences. "Sorry, you- you thought I- Jon, a guy- like.... that way? Babe???"</p><p>"Oh! Forgot!" Tim said with a snap of fingers. "Outsider. Right, so here being homosexual isn't illegal. Half the people already work for evil fear gods, so we thought adding that was kind of useless."</p><p>"O...oh." Martin knew he should say more, but it was a lot, considering his growing up.</p><p>It hadn't been <em>that</em> bad, certainly. He'd heard about boys getting tossed into dungeons without second thought, but it'd been easy enough for him to hide.</p><p>He hadn't...</p><p>the sleeping with others hadn't even sounded nice to him.</p><p>It hadn't sounded <em>awful</em>, but... he didn't want to.</p><p>So he hadn't, and had contented that to writing sappy poetry whenever he had a crush.</p><p>It would've be incredible, however, if he could've had a supportive community back then.</p><p>But apparently he had one now.</p><p>"That's... That's really nice," Martin finally contented himself with saying. "Good for me I guess."</p><p>"So you admit you like Jon?"</p><p>"I-" Martin barely squeaked out. "Does it-I've only seen him <em>once</em>. So it- none of it matters!"</p><p>The four turned to each other.</p><p>"If we-"</p><p>"But Gerry-"</p><p>"It'll still-"</p><p>"The forest-"</p><p>"Jon will protect-"</p><p>They all stopped abruptly, before slowly nodding.</p><p>Sasha took two cinnamon rolls, wrapping them into a basket. She then turned to Melanie, who begrudgingly pulled a knife out of nowhere with a green-grey handle. </p><p>"Martin. Take this to Jon?"</p><p>the world stopped.</p><p>"I- <em>what?</em>"</p><p>Sasha pushed the basket farther forward, a mischievous grin poorly hidden on her face. "To Jon! The basket. I am <em>one hundred</em> percent sure he'll love it."</p><p>Martin backed away slightly. "But-I can't! I've only seen him once!"</p><p>"So now you can see him again," Georgie said. "It's a <em>perfect</em> plan Martin."</p><p>"NO IT ISN'T."</p><p>"'Fraid I have to agree with Sash on this one," Tim interjected. "I see absolutely zero flaws. It's genius. Groundbreaking. Inspiring, even."</p><p>Martin found he was running out of excuses. "B-but..."</p><p>"If you do i'll get special tea for you once you come back."</p><p>Fuck.</p><p>Martin slowly reached out and grasped the basket. "FINE. But, just this once, alright? After this, NOTHING."</p><p>He walked out, shutting the door with a slam behind him.</p><p>The four turned to each other.</p><p>"Soo..." Georgie looked at a knife. "He'll be doing this every day, won't he?"</p><p>"500%."</p><p>"For sure."</p><p>"Definitely Babe."</p><hr/><p>Martin walked through the forest, tensing up at every shadow.</p><p>Why the hell had they sent him here? Yes Jon was extremely attractive, and <em>yes</em> Martin was now able to be open about that, but...</p><p>It was still stupid!</p><p>Also, it was hard not to feel lonely right now.</p><p>He was alone, though, wasn't he? His "friends", who he'd only known for a day, had sent him out to die. </p><p>They didn't care. And if they didn't, there certainly wasn't a single other person who di-</p><p>Martin was repelled back by something hot, the fog dissapating around it.</p><p>"HEY!"</p><p>Gerry appeared, jaw clenched for fight.</p><p>He stopped in surprise as soon as he saw Martin.</p><p>"You. Why'd you set off the alarm?"</p><p>"W-what alarm?"</p><p>Gerry opened his mouth, before clamping it down."Nevermind. What do you want?"</p><p>"Erm. Stuff," Martin said while gesturing to the basket. "For-for Jon."</p><p>Gerry raised his eyebrows. "You got things for <em>Jon</em>?"</p><p>"It was everyone else's idea, ok!?" Martin huffed out. He was <em>not</em> in a good mood and all he was trying to do was give his crush some biscuits. "Just- they thought I should be the one to deliver it."</p><p>"Why?"</p><p><em>Because I have a crush on him</em>. "I DON'T KNOW! I've-i've just arrived, so maybe that?"</p><p>Gerry stared a bit longer, before nodding. "Alright. You can come in."</p><p>With a flourish of his hand, a gold line appeared, and then hissed as it somehow retracted back into his hand.</p><p>Martin couldn't help staring.</p><p>"Come in. Jon may be a bit grumpy, though, so be careful."</p><p>Martin nodded and tentatively followed Gerry into the cottage.</p><p>On the outside, it was picturesque, with light brown wood developed into a slightly large, but still rather cozy cottage.</p><p>On the inside, it was the most cluttered thing Martin had ever seen.</p><p><em>"GERRY? GERR-</em>" Jon shouted until he stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide at the sight of Martin.</p><p>Martin gave a meek wave. "Uh, hello." He shoved the basket forward.</p><p>"Cinnamon rolls?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>can I write melanie/georgie?<br/>no.<br/>will I try anyways?<br/>Apparently.<br/>hope it was good!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>so, I had to re-upload this because I don't think AO3 was working, as it said I had published the chapter 4 days earlier.<br/>But! here it is! In all the glory.<br/>Hope it's worth the 3 day delay<br/>(sorry)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon stared at Martin, eyes furrowed in confusion and... what Martin assumed to be dislike.</p><p> "Hm." He grabbed the basket. "...Thank you, I guess."</p><p>"N-No problem!" Martin squeaked out, mentally facepalming.</p><p>God he was stupid. "Do you- help? Do you need help?"</p><p>Jon started to open his mouth to shape N, before he closed it. "Hm. Actually, would you be willing to help me make something?"</p><p>Martin found himself nodding before he could stop himself.</p><p>Jon's face.. it didn't light up, but it certainly lost some of the darkness on it. "Alright."</p><p>He pulled Martin into the cottage, before leading him over to the back table, taking out a card there.</p><p>It read: <strong><em><span class="u">Twelve reasons I should have co-ownership of the Admiral.</span></em></strong></p><p>"...Jon?"</p><p>"Yes?" Jon said, absentmindedly picking up a quill and starting to write.</p><p>"who is the Admiral?"</p><p>"Georgie's cat."</p><p><em>That explains so much</em>, the little sarcastic part of Martin said. What Martin <em>actually</em> said was, "Oh. Wh-how can I help with this, precisely?"</p><p>Jon sighed the slightest bit. "I need to make sure I didn't Know anything."</p><p>Martin frowned. "What do you mean, Know?"</p><p>"Ah," Jon said curtly. "Forgot you were an outsider. I..."</p><p>But, at that moment, before there could be further explanation, the door slammed open.</p><p>Gerard was standing there.</p><p>"Hey Jon."</p><p>Jon gave a nod. "Gerry."</p><p>And suddenly, Martin remembered the many other questions he had. "Wait. Gerry- you said you were a <em>ghost</em>."</p><p>Gerry raised his eyebrows. "And?"</p><p>"People- that's not how-" Martin struggled to find the words. "How did you open the door if you're a ghost?"</p><p>Gerry shrugged. "Magic powers."</p><p>Of course.</p><p>That made sense.</p><p>It did.</p><p>Why did it make sense?</p><p>Gerry then peered over Martin's shoulder, grinning. "So, he's making you help with his campaign to get the Admiral back, isn't he?"</p><p>"I'm RIGHT HERE you know," Jon muttered disdainfully, writing something down with more energy than before.</p><p>Gerry waved a hand. "Yeah, I know. Hard to forget."</p><p>Jon scoffed a bit at this, but didn't object to it.</p><p>Gerry turned to Martin.</p><p>"So, Martin, right?"</p><p>Martin nodded.</p><p>"You know Georgie?"</p><p>"Yeah. I- Jon, teleported me, I guess? Into Tim and Sasha's house, and the next morning Georgie and... Melanie, I think it was, came." A thought appeared in Martin's head.</p><p>"Oh! That reminds me." He pulled out the knife.</p><p>Jon's eyes widened. They were.... a lot.</p><p>His eyes.... they seemed so huge.</p><p>Not physically, they technically took up the normal amount of space on his face, but... Everything about them seemed to encompass all of Martin, all of everything even, to an extent.</p><p>"Martin?" Gerry was snapping his fingers.</p><p>Martin shook his head, trying to get out of the trance. "R-right! Sorry. I just... ahem. Melanie added this to the basket."</p><p>Jon- Jon <em>grabbed</em> the knife, staring at it with a curiosity that rivaled a child's.</p><p>"Do you..." Jon said, before quieting, and then starting again. "Do you know where she made this?"</p><p>"Uh... no, sorry."</p><p>Gerry sidled up to Jon. "Need a statement?"</p><p>"N-no, I don't-" Jon waved his hands in dismissal, setting the knife down. "I'm technically... fine, I guess. Just- the Eye's hungry."</p><p>This town really liked mysterious speak, didn't it?</p><p>"Sorry," Martin said, his curiosity finally bypassing his anxiety, "But... what's the eye?"</p><p>Gerry turned to Jon and raised an eyebrow. "You telling him or me?"</p><p>"I... think you should, or..." A silent understanding passed between the two, causing Gerry to nod and start to speak.</p><p>"Right. So, what do you know about Tim and Sasha?"</p><p>Oh god what fear was Jon part of.</p><p>"They... they're, they get power from fear. Tim gets it from the same thingy as Nikola, and Sasha has it from something else."</p><p>Gerry smiled slightly, more of a smirk than anything. "Yeah, you got it right. But that's just the surface. In reality, there's 14 of these things- well, we divided them into fourteen categories, it- it's more like colors, I guess. We have blue, and green, and pink, but they blur in between. Anyways, Jon... he feeds from the fear of being known, being watched."</p><p>Martin nodded. "Ah. Right. But-<em>why</em>?"</p><p>"Why what?" Jon had appeared, walked next to Gerry, and a confused look was on his face.</p><p>"Why <em>all of it</em>," Martin said while waving his hands around. "Couldn't you- just avoid this?"</p><p>Jon's face darkened. "I... I'm afraid I stumbled into all of this by accident. Tim and Sasha were dragged down with me."</p><p>"<em>Jon</em>." Gerry glared at him.</p><p>Jon sighed. "Yes, yes I know, don't blame myself. But it's the truth."</p><p>Martin thought for a second. On one hand, he really, really didn't want to ask anything more- this seemed like a still purple bruise. But, he needed to survive.</p><p>Peter Lukas had taught him that questions were needed to survive.</p><p>"Right, so, sorry about this, but how can I avoid becoming a fear god like you all did?"</p><p>Jon gave a dry chuckle, and something in Martin's chest fluttered. "Well, don't take a job at the Magnus Castle, or at the Magnus Library."</p><p>Martin frowned. "The what?"</p><p>"It doesn't matter," Gerry said with a wave of his pale hand. "Listen, Martin, you don't choose this life- it chooses you. I grew up with this shit, tried to run away, and look where it got me."</p><p>"As... as a-"</p><p><em>"yes, as a ghost,"</em> Gerry hissed. Jon placed his hand right above where Gerry's arm would be, if it physically existed.</p><p>"Gerry..."</p><p>Gerry sighed. "Right. Sorry."</p><p>"Don't be, I- it's fine." Martin stood up, opening the basket. "Why don't we have some cinnamon rolls instead? Unless... Gerry, if you-"</p><p>"Nah, it's fine. Never really liked food much anyway."</p><p>Martin turned to Jon. "What about you?"</p><p>Jon tilted his head slightly. "It's.... not strictly necessary for me anymore, but I think i'd like some. If, of course only if that's alr-"</p><p>Martin smiled. "Of course it is."</p><p>He ripped out a cinnamon roll, placed it on the plate, and handed it to Jon, their fingers brushing.</p><p>Jon jolted back as if he had been shocked.</p><p>Martin tried not to be incredibly disappointed.</p><p>"I.... Sorry," Martin and Jon muttered at the same time.</p><p>They then both chuckled slightly, making eye contact.</p><p>Jon... Jon changed. That weird detachment, the coldness, fell away, and Martin suddenly felt so warm inside.</p><p>How long had it been since he'd felt warm inside? He'd like to say it was because of Peter Lukas, but no.</p><p>He hadn't felt like this in so long.</p><p>Martin's heart shouldn't be pounding this much. Was it even technically possible?</p><p>Gerry sniggered. "Jon, you alright?"</p><p>Jon snapped up, and the vulnerability disappeared. "I'm- I'm fine, Gerry."</p><p>He pulled the plate towards himself, making a jerky nod at Martin. "I-I'll just- go- then. Ahem."</p><p>And then, Jon rushed up the stairs and slammed the door.</p><p>Martin felt his mouth fall open a bit. "I...."</p><p>Gerry burst into laughter.</p><p>Martin turned to the ghost, frowning. "What is it?"</p><p>"HA! JON-" Gerry wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's been a while since Jon's been like this."</p><p>Martin tried not to hope. "Been like... what?"</p><p>"Hm, don't think he'd like me telling you."</p><p>"I WOULD NOT."</p><p>Martin jumped a bit. "How- how'd he-"</p><p>"He lives off fear of knowledge, right?" Gerry said with a shrug and smile.</p><p>"Couldn't do that without knowing the stuff itself."</p><p>"R-right."</p><p>"But seriously, thanks for coming." The happy expression that had rested on Gerry's face faded. "It... it's useful to have a real, human anchor. I think he's gone too long without seeing a person."</p><p>Martin frowned. "What do you mean anchor?"</p><p>"Oh, right. When you're a fear monster, to stop yourself from slipping into complete evilness, it's useful to have a human counterpart. Someone to keep you grounded, I guess. Like an anchor."</p><p>"Ah. That- that makes sense," Martin said with a nod.</p><p>He then realized that technically, he didn't have a reason to stay, so he should go.</p><p>Because they wouldn't want him around to take up their time, obviously.</p><p>"I'll just... leave, then, if you guys don't need anything-" Martin started to back out. "Unless you want me to-"</p><p>Gerry raised his eyebrows. "JON?"</p><p>It was silent for a second.</p><p>Then the door opened, and Jon walked down the stairs.</p><p>(And his face had <em>cinnamon on it he looked so adorable what the hell-</em>)</p><p>"I... it would be, quite nice, if you stayed for dinner. ahem. Please." Jon looked down the entire time while saying this.</p><p>Martin couldn't stop a smile from spreading on his face. "Of-sure. I will. Sounds very nice."</p><p>And, as he saw Jon start to smile a bit too, he found that if his smile had caused that, he felt an emotion furthest from regret.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I don't think I did Gerry justice as I cant write him so I'm sorry.<br/>Next chapter: I promise, within a week.<br/>hope y'all like it!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this...<br/>this is going to be FUN.<br/>hope y'all like it!<br/>also plastic exists in my fantasy universe ok its my world i make the rules</p></blockquote></div></div>
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